One Last Zin Tasting for the Road

Our move was a weekend away. Friday we were moving all the wine. I had a crazy idea to do one last Zin tasting on Saturday. I figured as long as we kept it simple, like ordering pizza, it would be a welcome break from the the moving. I pinged Ted Wednesday night. He was game. He offered his place in order to save a dog sitter. I was cool with this, but he had to agree I could pay for the pizza. He did. I had a zin tasting ready to go, but would only do it if Jose were involved. Jose used to be big into Zins, he's now more into Cabs. I pinged Jose. He was in too. It was on!

I had a zin tasting in the cellars, yet another inspired by the 2021 SF Chronicle Wine Competition results. I had never tried any of the wines.

• Wilson Winery, Sydney's Reserve - 2021 SF Chronicle Wine Competition Best of Class Medal Winner
• Rockpile Vineyards, Florence - 2021 SF Chronicle Wine Competition Double Gold Medal Winner
• Robert Biale Vineyards, Black Chicken - I've been telling Jose we need to try this wine for years. It shows up on a lot of best of lists
• Once and Future Zinfandel Bedrock Vineyard 2018
• Made by the original owner of Ravenswood. I heard about this in a video: Why California Wine Companies See Opportunity in IPO Boom

Ted had a couple of bottles he wanted to share, so I was supposed to bring only two bottles. I knew I wanted to bring the Best of Class and Black Chicken, but I also wanted to bring the Once and Future, so I did.

Ted was set up for four wines, so he randomly chose two of the three I had brought. It was a warm day. We started with a refreshing Savvy B from Halleck.

We had a great time tasting with everyone.

Results

W - 2018 Wilson, Sydney's Reserve, Dry Creek Valley came in first place with an average of 4.14. It cost $60 directly from the winery.

Z - 2019 Robert Biale Vineyards, Black Chicken, Napa Valley  came in second place with an average of 3.98. It cost $50 directly from the winery.

Y - 2016 Taft Street, Alexander Valley came in third place with an average of 3.55.

X - 2017 Dutton-Golfield, Dutton Ranch, Morelli Lane Vineyard, Russian River Valley came in last place with an average of 3.18.

The Zins were all really good.

I DoorDashed Round Table Pizza, which was enjoyed with a salad Shannon made from vegetables out of their garden. We also enjoyed a GrGich Zin Jose brought and the Once and Future.

Dry Creek's Best Zinfandel

We've tried the blends from Dry Creek Vineyard, but we've never really tried their best. I sent them an email asking what they considered their best Zinfandel. I received a reply from their Direct to Consumer Manager, Michael Longerbeam.

Our best Zinfandel? That’s a tough question to answer since we make so many, and they are each so different from one another.

I’ll highlight 3 of my personal favorites.

2017 Somers Ranch Zinfandel

If your preference is a fruit forward Zinfandel with a nice long finish, this is your best bet

2017 DCV2 Four Clones Zinfandel

A beautifully balanced Zinfandel made from four different Zinfandel clones

2017 Vogensen Ranch Zinfandel

Our mountain Zinfandel. The flavors are full bodied due to dry farming and vines grown at high elevation

With Kaitlynn's help we randomized these and I distributed them. Ted and I shared some confusion around the tasting, but in the end we figured it out.

We zoomed, enjoying the company and wine. It was nice to have Paul and Jennifer.

Results

A - 2017 Vogensen Ranch Zinfandel came in first place with an average of 3.97.

C - 2017 DCV2 Four Clones Zinfandel came in second place with an average of 3.25.

B - 2017 Somers Ranch Zinfandel came in last place with an average of 2.91.

All the wines cost $44.

Jose's Remote Zin Tasting

Jose broached the idea of a remote wine tasting while everyone was sheltered in place. We talked about it for 3+ hours. Weeks later he sent out an email.

1. Vote on the type of wine we’ll taste. I narrowed the choices to three: Zins, Malbecs, and Pinots. My vote is Zins. Please reply to this email confirming your participation and with your vote.
2. Each tasting party suggests 1 or 2 wines to include in the tasting. Please make sure that the wines you suggest are available in quantities of 3 or more. Please reply to this email with your suggestions by Wednesday April 29th.
3. Once we have the list of candidates we’ll have a Zoom meeting to randomly choose only 3 wines from the suggested wines.  I will write the names of the wines in identical pieces of paper, drop the individual papers into an opaque container, shuffle, and draw from the container 3 choices, these will be the wines we’ll taste. Tentatively, we can have the wine drawing meeting on Thursday April 30th.
4. Each tasting party buys the chosen 3 wines. If one of your suggested wines is part of the 3 wines we are tasting, please provide the information where to buy that wine by Friday May 1st.
5. Once all parties have the same 3 wines at home we will schedule the Remote Tasting Meeting.
6. Some notes on how the tasting can be blind, specially when only one person is at home. My plan is to remove the cork wrapping, and paper bag each bottle as soon as I get them. Blind shuffle the bottles each day until the tasting day. On the day of the tasting uncork the bottles and shuffle then one more time. Finally, write a number on the bottles from 1 to 3. You should also number your covered bottles. Our numbering will not map to the same wines, but that is OK, when the tasting is done we’ll add each other’s rating per wine, not per number.

We agreed to Zin, knowing Jose's love of the varietal.

Our wine suggestions were:

1)We've tried the lower end from Dry Creek Vineyard. Why not try what they consider their best? I asked them. Here's the reply I received from their Direct to Consumer Manager, Michael Longerbeam We would choose one.

Our best Zinfandel? That’s a tough question to answer since we make so many, and they are each so different from one another.

I’ll highlight 3 of my personal favorites.

2017 Somers Ranch Zinfandel

If your preference is a fruit forward Zinfandel with a nice long finish, this is your best bet

2017 DCV2 Four Clones Zinfandel

A beautifully balanced Zinfandel made from four different Zinfandel clones

2017 Vogensen Ranch Zinfandel

Our mountain Zinfandel. The flavors are full bodied due to dry farming and vines grown at high elevation

2)Robert Biale "Black Chicken"

I found this in a light article, titled "5 California zinfandels you’ll want to drink right now".

"During Prohibition, when customers of the Biale farm ordered produce over the unsecure telephone party line, “black chicken” was code for a jug of zinfandel."

Sounded interesting.

Michel's suggestions were:

1 - Ridge Geyserville

2 - Rombauer Zinfandel N.V.

As the process progressed, the rules were changed so only three of the four tasting parties were able to pick a wine. I volunteered to not pick. Ted volunteered to disperse the wines, giving him more time to drive his new car. I was thankful, because I couldn't justify driving around for wine for a wine tasting as essential.

Ted's path to delivery was complicated, 6 steps long, but he pulled it off in record time.

After some discussion of tasting on Cinco de Mayo, which I thought was trouble, since it was a work night. We agreed to taste on a Saturday night at 8.

We got all set up. Taking the wines out of the cellar 2 and a half hours before, and pouring the wines into decanters an hour before. Alex didn't do as much homework as she should have, but came anyway. What a treat!

Jose had been ready since 5:30.

We zoomed, enjoying the company and wine. After we had settled on scores, Shannon guided us through an attempt to align our randomizations. Our A, was Michel's C, etc.

Results

B - 2013 Seghesio, Old Vine, Sonoma County took first place. It cost $30, including tax.

A - 2017 Rombauer took second place. It cost $35, including tax.

C - 2017 Rombauer took third place. It cost $38, including tax.

Unbelievably, two of the same wines were picked. Better yet, we all thought they tasted a little different. I wrote down sickening sweet as a descriptor for both of them, but I thought one was jammy, so what do I know. Alex had said how much she liked Rombauer zin during the tasting, but she's not certain which one her and her friend usually drink. Sometimes they enjoy El Dorado "Twin Rivers" Zinfandel.

Super Bowl of Storr's Zins

We had some of our non Super Bowl attending friends over to watch the big game. Since Jose was coming over, fresh from his business trip to Prague, I brought out the three Storrs' Zinfandels to determine the best of the bunch in a serve yourself blind tasting.

Casual Tasting Ready

Sue whipped up some of my sister's latest party recommendation: Bacon wrapped potatoes. We had these for New Years; they were excellent! This time she also found a bacon wrapped shrimp and scallops recipe.

Sue Consults the Recipe

Lili brought her famous secret ingredient guacamole. I was too timid to try it, no matter how much Bob tried to persuade me. Everyone seem to really enjoy it, though no one seems to recall what the secret ingredient was. We'll have to wait until Lili gets back from visiting her mother to know for sure.

Sue also brought out some chicken meat balls and Nathan's pigs in a blanket. I contributed some organic gummies from my Burrell Zin seeking trip to Whole Foods, Nummy Bears or whatever they are called. Needless to say we had plenty of junk to enjoy as we watched the game.

At half time we tallied up the scores and revealed the winners.

Results

Top to Bottom from Left to Right

A - 2009 Central Coast came in first place with an average of 3.59. It cost $20.

B - 2006 Lion Oaks Vineyard, Santa Clara County came in second place with an average of 2.84. It cost $30.

C - 2006 Rusty Ridge, Santa Clara County came in last place with an average of 2.55. It cost $30.

Surprisingly the more reasonable Zin won. While I thought the Lion Oaks wasn't great, the other two were both excellent.

Storrs makes a large number of reasonably priced, great wines. Go try some for yourself!

Zinfandel Large Group Blind Wine Tasting

The jackal and his wife joined us for a Zinfandel blind tasting.

I wanted to start at 6, since it's getting cold and dark earlier these days. By 6:15 everyone but Jose and Lili were there. We took a vote and the consensus was to wait until they arrived. I pulled out a 2009 Marilyn Remark Viognier to keep the growing unrest at bay.

Michel had arrived a little early and had prepared a lovely plate of pâté with bread. Pâté isn't really my thing, but in the spirit of expanding my tastes I gave it a try. It tasted meaty, which, to me, was a strange taste for a spread. Bob and Carolyn had also arrived a little early with cheese and crackers. So much cheese that I had to wonder if they had left any in the store. Carolyn assured us all that the cheese choosing was all Bob. 15 minutes after arriving Bob was still preparing his incredible cheese plate.

Bob Preparing the Cheese Plates

The Cheese Plates' Legend

Park entertained with tricks on his diablo.

Park and His Diablo

Bob brought out his beautifully arranged and plentiful cheese plates. We all dug in. Everyone enjoyed each other's company while waiting. About every 5 minutes someone called or texted Jose. He said he was on the way, so we sat tight. Bob joked that we were having a wake for the late Jose. The cheese was spectacular! Indulging in it whet everyone's appetite for a glass of wine.

Finally, Jose arrived sans Lili. She wasn't feeling well, but was kind enough to prepare lasagna for us. Sue and Kait randomized the bottles and we started tasting the 5 wines, one by one. At some point Bob told a joke about an infinite number of mathematicians going into a bar and ordering a drink. I can't remember the rest. I do remember that he said Carolyn laughed when she originally heard it. I don't remember if anyone else laughed that night. While tasting I brought out a couple of aroma wheels. Carolyn and Ling entertained us by finding strange aromas such as mousy. This wine smells mousy, yum!

Carolyn & Ling Find Silly Smells Like Mousy

Bob & Carolyn Talk With Ling & the Jackal

Now This is How you Eat Pâté

After we tasted the originally planned 5, we threw in 3 more. Bob and Carolyn, Carlos and Ling, and Sue and I had an extra on hand that we brought to share.

After compiling the ratings, I went crazy and opened the other three Zins I had in the house. I opened a Storrs Rusty Ridge so Jose could argue his case that it was actually a Pinot. I next opened a Ridge East Bench, because I knew Bob liked it so much. Lastly, I opened a 2007 Picchetti Bellicitti Zin. Michel tasted it and said, "Now this is a five!"

Results

Top to Bottom from Left to Right

G - 2008 Dry Creek Vineyard, Sonoma County, Heritage came in first with an average rating of 3.875. Bob and Carolyn brought this. It cost $27.

E - 2007 Dry Creek Vineyard, Dry Creek Valley, Beesen Ranch came in second with an average rating of 3.5625. Jose brought this. It cost $30.

C - 2005 Green & Red Vineyard, Napa Valley, Tip Top Vineyard came in third with an average rating of 3.03125. Ling and Carlos brought this. It cost $26.

D - 2007 Dashe, Florence Vineyard, Dry Creek Valley came in fourth with an average rating of 2.875. Sue and I brought this. It cost $28. I found this by googling for the best Zinfandel in California, which lead me to The Best Zinfandels in California: Tasting at ZAP 2010. I then picked one of the best rated wines.

H - 2008 Ridge, Paso Robles, Benito Dusi Ranch came in fifth with an average rating of 2.875. Ling and Carlos also brought this. It cost $30. I did not make it clear to them that group favorites were not allowed. I thought this was the best wine of the tasting.

A - 2009 Hartford, Russian River Valley, Dina's Vineyard tied for sixth with an average rating of 2.5625. Bob and Carolyn also brought this. It cost $55.

B - 2008 Storybook Mountain Vineyards, Napa Estate, Mayacamas Range also tied for sixth with an average rating of 2.5625. Michel brought this. It cost $30. He said it came highly recommended from one of the staff at K&L. He joked that he would return to K&L to discuss its showing.

F - Martinelli, Russian River Valley, Jackass Vineyard came in dead last with an average rating of 1.8125. Sue and I also brought this. It cost a whopping $95! I noticed it on the front page of the website I bought the Dashe at: Wine Ranger Cellars. The site said it received a 94 from Robert Parker. I'll admit, I went a little crazy with this order and was incredibly disappointed to find a sweet, jammy wine. If you haven't guessed already, Sue was not consulted on this purchase.

The Results in Ted's Trademarked Format

Once again we proved that money doesn't necessarily matter, or perhaps we just don't have that expensive tastes. Either way, I'm not certain I'll learn.

What is amazing is that Dry Creek took first and second. Years ago Jose and Lili put on a blind tasting and Dry Creek came in second, after Burrell School Pinot.

We headed inside to try some of Lili's lasagna, and Sue's chicken and dumplings.

Obligatory Sue with Wine Glass Shot

Intimate Zinfandel Blind Tasting

After reading Robert Parker's ratings for the 2009 Ridge wines, I had a hankering to put this to the test.

Our house was a mess due to our refrigerator breaking down, coolers of food were strewn accross the family room, and everything usually found atop the frig, was now on the dining room table; what better time to have a blind tasting. That I would even consider a blind tasting in this situation attests to my fanaticism and my wife's ability to entertain on a moments notice and her likeness to an angel. I sent a text to Jose, good friend and known Zinfindel lover, about my crazy idea. He quickly responded; he and Lili were in.

I headed to K&L and Sue went to work on the house. Arriving, I found the shelves empty of the Ridge wines I was looking for. At this point it occurred to me that I should have checked their availability via the web site before I drove the 25 minutes to the store. Thankfully, after some searching and help from the staff, I found what I was looking for: 2009 "Lytton Springs", 2009 "Geyserville", and even the 2009 "East Bench", which the web site said they were out of.

I didn't want to just taste Ridge wines, and Sue thought 5 was too much, so I decided to only taste the top two. Additionally, I threw in a Zin from Storrs I had lying around and a 2006 Picchetti Bellicitti, a group favorite and a wine I know Lili loves.

Jose brought a bottle, even though I told him not to. Instead of putting it into the mix, we decided to try it afterwards.

Ready to Taste Some Zins

We all dug in, trying the wines and comparing notes. It was a tad cool and a little breezy, which may have influenced the wine tastes and smells. Everyone had a hard time getting a good nose off the wines.

The Four Wines

Almost everyone but Lili was convinced the first wine was actually a Pinot, which drove me nuts wondering how I had messed up the bottles. It was a lot lighter than the other Zins, and had a vegital Pinot smell. At one point Jose was willing to bet $100 on it, but I couldn't take the bet for two reasons. First, I never like to bet such huge amounts. Second, I thought I knew more than he did, since I thought the wine was a Ridge from the silver neck I had noticed when I poured it. As it turns out, it was the Storr's Zin, or so the bottle said. Jose was still convinced it was a mislabeled bottle.

After we were finished rating the 4 planned wines, we poured a glass of what Jose brought and rated it.

The Aftermath

Results

Top to Bottom from Left to Right

D - 2006 Picchetti, Bellicitti came in first with an average rating of 4.0625. Purchased at club case discount price at the winery for $25; retails for approximately $37, though I've never paid this. I originally purchased 3 cases when I found out it was in short supply. After this one, I'm down to 3 left.

C - Ridge 2009 Geyserville came in second with an average rating of 3.5. Purchased from K&L for $29.99. It was given 94 points from Robert Parker. Parker said it's anticipated maturity is 2012-2029, so it'll probably get even better.

A - Storrs 2006 Rusty Ridge came in third with an average rating of 3. Purchased from the winery for $30; I believe we got 10% to 15% off this price, but I can't remember. This was the wine all of us, but Lili, thought was a Pinot.

E - 2007 Martin Ranch, Therese Vineyards came in fourth with an average rating of 2.875. Jose brought this because it was from Amador county, and he was sure I wouldn't have any from that region. He likes wine from this region. He paid $25.99 at Whole Foods. It was too jammy and sweet for my taste.

B - Ridge 2009 Lytton Springs came in dead last with an average rating of 2. Purchased from K&L for $31.99. It was given 95 points from Robert Parker. In fairness, Parker said it's anticipated maturity is 2013-2029, so it'll hopefully get better.

The Results in Ted's Trademarked Format

It's pretty shocking that Lytton Springs came in last. I was glad to see the Picchetti held up.

We headed inside with our favorite glass to enjoy what Sue had whipped up for us.